JOAN-E (Robert Kaiser) was born in Calgary, Alberta and moved to Vancouver, British Columbia at the age of 19.  Over the years, Joan-E has earned various titles including Entertainer of the Year, Imperial Crowned Princess XXII, six-time Minister of Protocol, and Empress XXVIII of Vancouver and All of British Columbia.  She has served as the Master of Ceremonies for various community events including Art for Life (Vancouver Friends for Life Society), Davie Days (Davie Street Business Improvement Association), Gay Ski Week, The Leo Awards (Canada’s equivalent to the Emmy Awards), Starry Night and Fit for a Queen (Shooting Stars Foundation), as well as “Queen’s Care” an event she created in memory of Empress XXX of Vancouver, Diana Rose. In addition, Joan-E has hosted Vancouver’s Gay Pride Parade for more than ten years and has presided over “Bingo for Life” for thirteen years, helping the event raise over a quarter of a million dollars for Friends for Life, which assists people with life-threatening illnesses.

For her incredible work in the LGTB and Greater Vancouver community, Joan-E has been awarded the Citizen of the Year Award by the Court of Vancouver, Drag Queen of the Year by XTRA West and the Westender, The XTRA West Hero Award, Friend Indeed Award by the Vancouver Friends for Life Society, a State Congressional Award from the United States of America, and the Golden Jubilee Award of Merit from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.  In September 2009, Joan-E was an inaugural inductee to the Canadian Queer Hall of Fame.
Joan-E has been reviewed in various forms of media including Variety, The LA Times, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.  In addition, she has a number of film and television appearances including Da Vinci’s Inquest, and “The Collector” where she was nominated for a Leo Award.  Movie credits include Fetching Cody (2005), About A Girl (2006), and the Universal Production of Connie and Carla (2004).  In addition, she continues to host the longest running drag show in Vancouver – Feather Boa Sundays at The Odyssey Nightclub where the show now celebrates its 16th year.  Joan-E writes as a contributor to the online magazine pinq.ca and is also a regular columnist in V-Rag Magazine.

Joan-E’s campaign for Empress in 1999 saw the greatest amount of votes cast in the last 20 years in Vancouver.  After a very successful year in and out of town, Joan-E and English returned Coronation to Vancouver’s historic Commodore Ballroom welcoming a record 33 Courts – a record which has not been broken in Vancouver to this day.   In addition, At the end of Coronation, Empress Joanie was bestowed a very special honour - MC’s Emperor Larry Mastropierro and Empress Jack-E of Reno, NV, proclaimed that Joanie would now be spelled Joan-E to reflect the spelling of her Imperial Mother Jack-E. To this day, Joan-E has kept that spelling and continues to walk as the proud and only other member of the “E” Family Dynasty.

“I make a living from the community so I think it’s important to give back” says Joan-E.  “I think citizenship has its place.  Going out to bars and the bathhouses isn’t enough. I think for those of us who remember, before we were going to weddings, we were going to funerals,” she says bringing up AIDS, which was a catalyst to her community involvement. “Governments weren’t helping us so we had to do it ourselves.  We set an example and we have to keep it up.”